UNIDO/Japan Delegation Commissions Salt Processing Plants in Ebonyi State

Ebonyi State Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) executed an Industrial Development Fund (IDF) Agreement on 2nd February, 2008. The Agreement was aimed at facilitating development on a range of industrial sectors in the State.

Since the Agreement was signed, Ebonyi State has realized a number of benefits, including:

1. In 2008, UNIDO commissioned a UNIDO-HP-GET-IT Project for ICT capacity building facility in Ebonyi State.
2. UNIDO instituted a Train-of-Trainers (TOT) program for ICT students and professionals at Ebonyi State University in September 2008.
3. In October 2009, UNIDO certified three Ebonyi engineers as ICT Master Trainers in Cairo Egypt.
4. In the same month, Ebonyi State emerged the World’s Get-It Best Achiever in ICT training in Cairo Egypt.
5. In March 2010, one Rachael Odi, Director, Bridge Farm (one of the Ebonyi “digital farmers”) benefitted from UNIDO’s Get-It training program and was selected as best girl-farmer at the International Women Conference in New York.
6. In November, 2009, the UNIDO Village Solar Lighting Project at Ebyia Development Centre was commissioned.
7. In November 2009, the planting of Ogrisi biomas fuel field for UNIDO’s pilot gasification plant in Ebonyi State – the best in the region – commenced.
8. In January, 2010, some Ebonyians were sent to a UNIDO Gasification Power Plant Training Programme in India.

The Salt Processing Project

The salt processing plants were built by a UNIDO/JAPAN/Ebonyi State partnership. The plants are located in three salt producing communities in Ebonyi State, namely Amaeta Uburu, Anuagata Okposi, and Ikwuato Idembia in Ezza South LGA.

The project was initiated by UNIDO and Ebonyi State Government to provide women in salt producing communities with modern salt processing equipment in order to enhance both the quantity and quality of salt. Under the combined auspices of the authorities of Nigeria, Japan, UNIDO, and the civil society, the project is aimed to be a high-impact women empowerment project for livelihood enhancement and poverty reduction. The embassy of Japan hopes that the project will contribute to women's empowerment in salt producing communities of Ebonyi State and will further strengthen the friendly relations between Nigeria and Japan.

The project is outlined as follows:

1. Project name: Project for Betterment of the Livelihood of Women Through Adoption of Improved Salt Processing Techniques in Ebonyi State
2. Amount Granted: US$87,939
3. Implementing Partner: Ebonyi State UNIDO Salt Manufacturers Co-operative Union
4. Summary of Project: Installation of salt processing plants

Visit by the Delegation

In preparation for the commissioning of the salt processing plants, the UNIDO Representative in Nigeria, His Excellency Masayoshi Masutshita and the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Toshitsugu Liesawa (represented by the Charge D’ Affairs of the Embassy, Shigeru Hamano) paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Ebonyi State, His Excellency Chief Martin Elechi at the Government House Abakaliki on April 28, 2010.

The team briefed the governor on the status of other UNIDO projects still in the pipeline: This includes the Abakaliki Bio-mass Power Plant, which will utilize rice husk as fuel. According to the UNIDO Country Representative, Mr Masutshita, the power plant will generate a power capacity of 4 Mega watts when commissioned. He however asked the Government to choose a location for the project but suggested Ohubara Junction where the rice husk cluster could be easily mobilized. He also stated that the 3 ton/hr efficient rice mill machine will be commissioned in June 2010 but solicited the State government’s assistance with the housing of the project.

The team also pleaded with the State Government to complete her counterpart fund to enable UNIDO to finish the remaining projects in the pipeline.

Governor Elechi expressed great pleasure with UNIDO and Japan as development partners. He recalled how during the Nigerian civil war, people from neighboring states depended on Ebonyi State for salt production to sustain the defunct Biafra government.

The Governor also stated that the State has registered two power companies for power generation and distribution. The Governor confirmed that he has signed a letter of credence to enable the manufacturer to proceed with the manufacturing of the power plant and stated that the UNIDO 4 Mega Watts power plant would serve as a compliment to the initiative.

Commissioning the Plants

The commissioning of the processing plants took place on April 29, 2010. The delegation, accompanied by members of the Exco and other State officials, visited each of the three plant locations at Anuagata Okposi, Amaeta Uburu and Idembia in Ezza South LGA, where the commissioning took place.

At the commissioning, the UNIDO and Japan Embassy representatives announced that the “The Project for Betterment of the Livelihood of Women through Adoption of Improved Salt Processing Technologies in Ebonyi State” has been completed and the newly installed salt processing plants were handed over to the implementing NGO, Ebonyi State UNIDO Salt Manufacturers Co-operative Union. The Government of Japan granted the amount of US$ 87, 939 (eighty-seven thousand, nine hundred and thirty-nine US dollars) under the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) to the above mentioned NGO to assist in the project.

Ever since the independence of Nigeria, the Japanese assistance to Nigeria has amounted to about $4 billion (approximately 600 billion naira). Under the GGP, 107 projects with a total amount of US$5,838,040 have been implemented throughout Nigeria since 1998. Meeting diverse needs and bringing a direct impact on the well being of grass-root communities, the GGP is designed to provide non-refundable financial assistance to non-profit organizations and local governments implementing development projects at the grass-roots level. Today, the GGP is one of the well-known organizations with a reputation for its swift and pro-poor approaches in this country.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Masako Yamamoto/Ms.
Economic Cooperation, Embassy of Japan
E-mail: ggp.embassy@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 09-413-8898, 9718 or 09-461-3289, 3290